WEB POSTED 08-22-2000

TO KILL A BLACK MAN

As unappealing as Al Gore may be when one is considering possible presidential candidates, like many other distasteful things and circumstances, the prospect loses much of its rancor in the face of the alternative�in this case, one George W. Bush. Records indicate that "Dubyah" has overseen more executions than any other governor in the country. And, of course, unless you were raised on the planet Mars, no one has to spell out to you the ratio of white to nonwhite execution victims, in Texas and elsewhere.

As one writer states concerning a recent execution, "Despite strong evidence of his innocence and an international outcry for Texas Governor George W. Bush to spare his life, Gary Graham was executed on June 22. So much for a compassionate conservatism."

The writer, Craig Aaron, says of Graham, "There was no physical evidence tying him to the 1981 murder of Bobby Lambert: no blood, no hair, no fingerprints, not a speck of DNA. The murder weapon didn�t match a gun owned by Graham. Though his motive was supposedly robbery, $6,000 was found in Lambert�s back pocket.

"Only 17 at the time of the murder," Aaron continues, "Graham was convicted solely on the testimony of one eyewitness who says she saw him for a split second through the windshield of her car from more than 30 feet away. She�s sure he was the killer, but at least two other witnesses insist that Graham wasn�t the man they saw. Their testimony was never heard in court."

Part of the problem, the writer observes, is that, like the majority of inmates who end up on Death Row, Graham could not afford a "good" lawyer, and was left at the mercy of one he describes as "the worst", Ronald G. Mock, "who," says Aaron, "has more clients on Death Row than any other attorney in the country."

Aaron goes on to say, "Mock�s incompetence and errors at trial erected insurmountable obstacles for Graham�s appellate attorneys. Evidence that almost certainly would have led to an acquittal was ruled inadmissable." He further points out that "Fifteen more Texas inmates are scheduled to die by Election Day."

To further stress the point that there is no real choice to be made in this, as in many other, elections, the writer concludes, "Graham�s death should haunt the governor at every stop on the presidential campaign trail�but Al Gore has refused to challenge Bush on this issue."